Wood cranesbill

The Wood cranesbill is a bushy herbaceous perennial plant, which grows up to half a metre in height and is covered by fluffy hair. Big attention-catching flowers, whose colour ranges from dark red to pure white, bloom in June and July.

Wood cranesbill grows in the grove-like and moist heath forests, groves, wet meadows, fens and morasses of Northern and Central Europe.

The wood cranesbill´s scientific species name sylvaticum means “of woodland,” referring to the plant’s native habitat. It is also called “Odin`s grace,” because it was used to dye war cloaks blue-grey to protect soldiers in battle. According to fables, prosperity and wealth follow those who carry wood cranesbills with them.

Wood cranesbill is a well-known basic species of our forests. It has benefitted from human influence and is particularly abundant in meadows, open areas and forests that have been burned. In the north, the species is common in high nutrient marshes.